The following was sent out to the SSEC listserv.
The organizer of this mediation is the faculty liaison
for the _Undercurrent_. The most important problem to
be addressed is the _Undercurrent_'s currently
problematic relationship with the progressive and
liberal communities on campus.
The time for the event has been changed from 1:PM
to 2:PM. Please notice the change
If you want to be heard, if you want to help end
the current problems involving the editors and
editorial stance of the newspaper which claims to
represent the progressive/liberal communities, if you
want to return the _Undercurrent_ to its original
mission of representing openly the voices of all the
communities (the _Undercurrent_ used to be so open a
forum that it featured a regular column by a
conservative) instead of its practice this semester of
representing only the particulars of its editorial
stance,
you need to e-mail your thoughts to the clemencia
rodriguez and to the _Undercurrent_, expressed as
thoroughly as you can so that no misunderstanding is
possible.
I was originally going to attend the meeting since I
have heard from a number of people who are afraid to
speak up and I had wanted to represent their views for
them, but I work until 5:PM that day, and my efforts
to have the time changed have failed. The time and
day were chosen by one person for the _Undercurrent_
and one person for everyone else, and he tells me he
hadn't had time to consult with any other
progressives/liberals about what time would be good
for them and that he'd voiced concerns about having it
the Monday directly following Thanksgiving Break with
so little notice for anyone one else but had been
informed that no other day would be workable.
Since the time will not be changed, all of you will
have to speak up, and speak up loudly and thoroughly,
if you really care about the only newspaper
alternative we have to the _Fountainhead_. Since I
can not make it, this time I'll have to listen to Phil
Dow and let people express their frustrations
themselves instead of expressing it for them as I had
earlier.
I hope many of you attend and send e-mails as our
progressive/liberal communities are so worthy of!
yours,
W. Everett Chesnut
----------------------------------------------------------
Dr. David Carnevale and I have organized a mediation
process for SSEC and The Undercurrent. Dr.Carnevale
is a professional mediator with a long history of
serving as a mediator for all types of organizations,
especially unions. To look into mediation to resolve
the dispute involving the Undercurrent, SSEC, and
other student organizations in the area was my idea.
My own interest in mediation stems from my realization
that no matter how old, or wise one is, good conflict
resolution skills are as useful as they are rare, and
this is particularly true among progressive
organizations, leaders, and people (why? maybe because
conservative organizations allow very little room for
dissent?). In more down to earth terms: it is quite
depressing to see how urgently needed coalitions and
alliances among progressive organizations collapse
because the only perceived way out of conflict
is aggression followed by distance.
The goals of this mediation process are:
1. To settle issues and disputes between the
Undercurrent and SSEC. The idea is to eventually bring
in the student organizations from other campuses
involved;
2. To establish clear procedures and by-laws that can
prevent future disputes and misunderstandings;
3. To learn how to deal with disputes, differences,
conflicts, etc. in a way that can lead to win-win
resolutions.
The mediation sessions are planned as follows
1st Group Mediation Session
Monday, 11/26 1-4pm
Burton Hall 204C
Undercurrent Caucus
Tuesday, 11/27 8pm
Undercurrent/SSEC office-OMU, Conoco Wing Rm 384
SSEC Caucus
TBA
2nd Group Mediation Session
Friday, 11/30 1-4pm
Burton Hall 204C
I hope to see you there. Also, could SSEC please set
a time and place for the SSEC caucus? If your weekly
meeting is Thursday at 7:00pm, could we use part of
your session for this purpose?
Please e.mail any concerns, questions, or complaints
to [log in to unmask]
Clemencia Rodriguez
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
University of Oklahoma
610 Elm Ave
Norman, OK 73019
(405) 325 1570
Fax (405) 325 7625
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